Coopaname

URL = http://www.coopaname.coop/

Definition

"Coopaname founded in 2004, is a French worker co-op, a SCOP (Société Coopérative et Participative) which has over 750 members, craftspeople, freelancers and service providers, in various stages of development of economic activities that work alone or in co-operative groups. Multi-activity and open Coopaname offers to all workers, whether graphic designer or mender of chairs, consultant or e-trader, software developer or magician the opportunity to freely integrate co-operatively, to bring their economic activity together and to allow the SCOP to pay them salaries and benefit from social protection. In other words they provide a collective framework where all seek the means to live decently from ‘what you love and can do at the pace that suits us’." (http://www.greatdigitalcompany.co.uk/sep/SEP2.xml#Example81)

Description

Barbara Garbarczyk, Saw-B :

«Coopaname is a worker cooperative, which emerged from the movement of business and employment cooperatives. Coopaname features a range of activities and an open structure and proposes to any worker, male or female, graphic artist or repairer of chair seats, consultant or e-businessman/businesswoman, IT developer or magician to freely join the cooperative, to contribute his/her know-how and to independently develop a business activity, which enables him/her to gain a salary and to benefit from social protection. In other words: a collective framework to jointly look for the means to live decently of the activity a person likes and knows how to do in the rhythm of his/her own liking.»

Coopaname is a French structure from the Île-de-France and the Sarthe regions. Today it counts more than 750 persons. For joining Coopaname it is not necessary to justify a minimum turnover: « From your first billings, you sign a CDI (permanent contract of employment) with Coopaname – and you then benefit from the social protection and the same rights as any employed individual – and start paying your own salary from your own turnover. The salary you transfer to yourself varies over time and is reviewed during the further evolution of your activity. » (http://www.saw-b.be/spip/IMG/pdf/a1515_mutuelles_de_travail_-_traduction_en.pdf)